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Judge restores affidavit option for Native voters in North Dakota

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Voting in North Dakota is "easy as pie" according to an official state poster but a federal judge found otherwise in a lawsuit filed by members of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians. Image from North Dakota Secretary of State

A federal judge has restored the use of an affidavit for Native voters who lack identification in North Dakota.

Affidavits were allowed up until 2013, when the state imposed new identification rules that Native voters said were overly burdensome. Judge Daniel Hovland agreed with those concerns in a decision last month and followed up with an order on Tuesday that restores the use of affidavits for the upcoming election.

The order also reaffirms that a "Tribal government issued identification card" can be used at polling places.

Members of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians filed the lawsuit. They argued that the state's requirements placed hardships on Native Americans who are unable to obtain identification cards -- even those offered by their own tribes -- due to cost and other concerns.

"It is undisputed that the more severe conditions in which Native Americans live translates to disproportionate burdens when it comes to complying with the new voter ID laws," Hovland wrote in his 29-page decision last month.

The affidavit option could improve the Native vote this year especially since the state has seen an influx of thousands of people thanks to the #NoDAPL movement. Under North Dakota law, many at the campsites near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation could now be considered residents, journalist Mark Trahant reported.

Native Americans represent 5.5 percent of the population in North Dakota, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.